This invention relates to a clamping assembly which provides maximum flexibility in the number of ways it may be used by craftsmen, hobbyists, welders, plumbers and cabinet makers.
It has been known in the prior art that a plural C-clamp structure would prove beneficial to craftsmen for holding work pieces. Some patents which illustrate the prior art teachings are as follows: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,778,393 (Golasowski); 3,394,389 (Amir); 4,141,542 (Wolff); 2,606,583 (O'Connor); 2,366,350 (Ostling).
The Golasowski patent, for example, illustrates an adjustable C-clamp assembly for holding work pieces at various locations as desired. One problem with structures such as that shown in the Golasowski patent is that a workman must expend the time needed to adjust or set up the rather complex workholder itself, thus taking away from the time actually spent on the workpiece. The convenience of easily setting up a piece to be worked on is important and has not been successfully accomplished by systems such as that of Golasowski.
Other systems in the prior art such as that of the Ostling U.S. Pat. No. (2,366,350) have used angled clamping arrangements to hold a single central workpiece. Such work holders suffer the drawback of not being able to hold an enlarged or elongated piece of work. Their utility has thus proved limited in such professions as plumbing and cabinet making where multiple, elongated elements need to be firmly secured in place to have work performed on them.
A significant problem in the work holding arts has arisen when it is desired to hold an element which has differing thicknesses along its length. None of the prior art systems heretofore have successfully addressed this problem.
Ease of use for a wide variety of applications, the safety of the workman, and the protection of the workpiece by a firm holding have been realized to be desirable end results for work holding assemblies. However, none of the prior art systems have successfully combined these features into a single structure.
It has also been realized that a safe and easily used pipe holder attachment for clamping assemblies would prove highly beneficial to those of skill in the art.